Strange Behavior Displayed by Inkfish Bay Dolphin “Acara”

Two dolphins, an adult and a juvenile (the adult was Barracuda, and the calf was Morning Glory – Barracuda was likely “babysitting” Morning Glory) hunted by the first mud flat. Another group of dolphins were surfacing by a second mud flat.

Eventually, Acara showed up where Barracuda and Morning Glory were hunting. Barracuda and Morning Glory swam to meet Acara, but when they met, splashing erupted out of the harbor, and flukes and pectoral flippers started flying everywhere – clearly this was a fight. Suddenly, the action died down, and Acara surfaced, heading back to the other dolphins, and Barracuda and Morning Glory headed back to their hunting spot. Barracuda (possibly with the help of Morning Glory – but not likely, because Morning Glory is so young) had chased away Acara from their hunting ground.

Barracuda and Morning Glory continued to hunt, but then they began to head toward the other dolphins on the second mud flat. As they were going, Acara surfaced, heading toward them, and after Acara surfaced, a boat charged through. A few seconds later, Acara appeared at the surface with its pectoral flippers and rostrum out of the water. Acara was as still as a statue, and stayed that way, floating lifelessly with the current. At first I thought that Acara might have been hit by the boat that had just passed, and was now either dead or injured. Barracuda and Morning Glory surfaced next to Acara, completely ignoring the dolphin’s unusual display and moving on toward the other dolphins. I was about to jump on my paddleboard and see if Acara was okay, when Acara suddenly straightened out and ducked under, afterward surfacing in the direction that Barracuda and Morning Glory had gone.